


I Won't Cry For Yesterday

by orphan_account



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, Foster Care, High School, M/M, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-01-27
Packaged: 2018-05-16 07:03:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5818744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jellal and Erza have wanted kids ever since they first got married. They finally get their chance when they become foster parents of four children. Drama, romance, angst and tragedy ensues as these four grow up, and for some, their pasts may come back to haunt them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just...I needed a modern au and I needed more stingue. That is all.

"This is Minerva Orlando.” Mirajane smiled, turning the paper around for Erza and Jellal to see.

A girl, with long black hair and green eyes. She didn’t smile in the picture, didn’t even attempt to look nice. She was pretty, definitely, but that was the nicest thing about her.

Erza was already in love with her.

“She came from an abusive home...her mother died when she was 2 and her father is an alcoholic.We wouldn’t put her in a home with anyone on her father’s side of the family and we couldn’t trace anyone on her mother’s side.”

“She’s beautiful,” Erza blurted out. Jellal smiled fondly at his wife, before turning back to Mirajane. “We get to take her home?”

“Yes, in just a few days, too. I think she’ll learn to like it with you all.”

“I certainly hope so.” Jellal nudged Erza, who was still staring at the picture in awe. “Erza? Hello?”

Erza blinked, turning to Jellal. “We need..we should make sur the room is clean...clean up around the house...”

“Erza, dear, we already-”

Erza stood up abruptly, grabbing Jellal’s arm and tugging him up as well. Mirajane giggled. “Go ahead, do whatever is needed. I’ll call you soon.”

“Thank you.” Jellal sent Mirajane an apologetic smile as Erza dragged him out of the office.

The next two days were spent mainly with Erza and Jellal bustling around their house, trying to triple-check and make sure everything was exactly the way it should be, and going grocery shopping twice to make sure they got things a child would like to eat. (Even though Jellal assured Erza that even a child would have to be silly to not enjoy her food.)

When they finally brought Minerva home, she was quiet. Very quiet. And she glared at everything. Even the neighbor’s cute new puppy (it nearly brought Jellal to tears).

When they got inside, Erza watched Minerva, slightly nervous. “I-I hope you’ll like it here, Minerva. Even if you don’t stay very long, I’m happy you-”

“Where’s my room?”

Erza blinked. “I-I’m sorry?”

“My room. Where is it?”

“O-oh...um...”

Jellal took over, walking up to Minerva and beckoning her to follow him. “It’s just down this hall. Come on.”

Minerva huffed, following him down the hall.

When Jellal returned, he gave Erza a smile, patting her shoulder. “It’s just new to her. She’ll adapt.”

“...Are you sure? She looks so unhappy...”

“Well, you would too, in her shoes. She’ll get better, I promise. You’ll be the best foster mother to ever walk the planet.”

~DD~

Things did get better, over time. Minerva stopped leaving the table at dinner to go to bed halfway. She sat in the living room and watched TV with Jellal and Erza on Saturday afternoons. She still didn’t smile, but she definitely seemed happier.

She had been with them for almost five months when they got a call from Mirajane. Erza didn’t answer the first time, terrified that they might have found someone suitable to raise Minerva in her family, that she may get taken away.

But that was not the case. Not at all.

Jellal walked into the room just in time to see Erza’s jaw try to take a dive to the floor.

“Y-you what?”

Jellal frowned, about to open his mouth to ask what the matter was, but Erza held up her hand, signaling for him to wait. “Y-yes, of course! We’ll be over first thing in the morning!” She hung up the phone, turning to Jellal with a sparkle in her eyes. 

“They have another kid for us.”

~DD~

Sting was very different from Minerva. Very different. He was quiet too, but not nearly as quiet. When they said hello, he had opened his mouth to respond, only to burst into tears, throwing himself at Jellal, who caught him with a surprised look, and they spent the next fifteen minutes trying to comfort him before bringing him home.

“Sting’s father died in a car accident,” Mirajane had said. “Sting was in the car with him, but was uninjured. It was still quite a traumatic experience for a seven year old.”

Erza frowned, looking at the boy who hadn’t let go of Jellal yet, still sniffling quietly. Sting had been adopted, and didn’t have a mother. He wasn’t used to what it was like...or what it could be like. It had always been just him and his father.

“It’s alright,” Jellal said while they sat in their room after dinner, curled up in the bed. “He’ll get used to it. At least he’s sociable, you remember how Minerva was.”

:”She’s still that way...you said she’d get better, too.”

“And she has. She’s improved a lot, you know that. Her mother died when she was still very little too, so technically she didn’t have one, either. And she likes you better than she likes me.”

Erza sighed, flopping down against the sheets. “I sure hope you’re right...”

Jellal chuckled, brushing her hair out of her face and planting a kiss onto her forehead. “Of course I’m right. I’m always right.”

“Don’t get too cocky, Fernandez.”

“Miss Scarlet, I couldn’t possibly know what you’re talking about.”

~DD~

Minerva hadn’t come out of her room to go see Sting the night before (it had been one of her moodier days, she still got those a lot), so she came downstairs that morning for breakfast.

She was sure she was gonna hate...him? She thought she overheard Jellal saying something about a little boy...whatever. If he thought he could take her place, he was dead wrong.

Jellal smiled warmly at her when she came downstairs from where he was sitting on the couch. “Morning, Minerva. Sleep well?”

Minerva shrugged. “Yeah, sure.”

“Good. Erza’s almost finished with breakfast, go sit at the table.”

Minerva turned to leave, before hesitating. “Is the kid up yet?”

“Hm? Oh, Sting? No, he’s not awake yet. Ms. Strauss said I would probably have to wake him up...he’d feel less scared that way.”

“Scared of what?”

“Not sure. Go on into the kitchen, I’ll go get him.”

“Sure, whatever.” Minerva turned, disappearing into the kitchen.

Jellal shook his head, getting up and going upstairs to the room Sting was staying in, slowly opening the door and going inside.

Sting had curled up under the sheets, the stuffed dog Jellal gave him (the one he slept with many nights himself as a child) hooked under his arm and pulled close to him.

Jellal smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed. He looked so peaceful...especially to have been through so much in his short life. Jellal was almost reluctant to wake him up. Nonetheless, he reached down and shook Sting’s shoulder gently.

“Time to get up, Sting. Breakfast time.”

Sting yawned, not opening his eyes. “...Daddy...?”

Jellal felt his heart sink a bit for the boy. “No, sweetheart, it’s Jellal. Remember?”

Sting nodded, sitting up and rubbing his eyes sleepily, grabbing onto Jellal’s shirt sleeve. “Can I call you Daddy?”

Jellal’s eyes widened in surprise. “O-oh..uh...of course you can, if...if you want to...”

“Mkay....” Sting looked up at him, a goofy grin plastered onto his face. “I’m hungry.”

Jellal smiled. “Good. Erza made pancakes. Oh, and Minerva is awake. You’ll get to meet her, too.”

Sting’s face scrunched in confusion. “Minerva?”

“She’s the little girl who came to stay with us awhile ago. You’ll like her. Maybe you two can play together. Would you like that?”

Sting nodded excitedly. “Yeah! Okay!”

“Alright, come on.” Jellal lifted the boy off the bed. “Let’s go eat.”

Erza smiled when they entered the kitchen. “Hello, Sting. Ready to eat?”

Sting nodded, but his eyes had wandered over to the table, where Minerva sat. She glanced up at him, but turned back to her book.

Jellal set Sting down. “This is Sting. He’ll be staying with us for awhile.”

Sting’s cheeks turned pink, and he gave Minerva a sheepish smile. “H-hi.”

Minerva stared at him for a moment, eyes narrowed, before grinning, just a bit. “Hey, kid.”

Erza turned to Jellal, a ‘did that just happen?!’ look on both of their faces.

~DD~

Sting and Minerva got along better than Erza or Jellal had anticipated. Many days were spent with the two of them chatting animatedly, about anything. Minerva actually smiled when she talked to Sting, and even though she pretended it wasn’t a big deal, it was obvious that having Sting around was a very good thing for her, and for Sting, too. He followed her around like a puppy, and she loved it, even if she pretended to be annoyed.

Another 4 months passed, and ANOTHER little girl came to live with them, Yukino Aguria. She was more like Sting, quiet and shy, but she was MUCH shyer than Sting. She had an almost permanent blush on her face and was nervous most of the time.

“Her parents died not too long ago. She and her sister had been staying with a neighbor, they didn’t have the proper means to take care of a child. She doesn’t seem very affected by it, but that’s just our observation. More of her nervousness comes from being bullied constantly, by children at her school AND her older sister.”

Erza frowned. “She has a sister?”

“Yes...she was a different case entirely. She had to be taken to a different care system...and it was probably best for Yukino to be separated from her, anyways. At least for a while.”

Yukino never spoke about her sister. She did talk, however, after much coaxing from Sting, how was overjoyed that there was yet ANOTHER kid in the house, and that Yukino was even younger than he was, given that Minerva was three years older. The three of them got along perfectly fine, and everything was pleasant, and CALM, for another three years.

And then things got interesting.

~DD~

“His name is Rogue. He’s three months younger than Sting.”

“He looks sweet,” Erza replied. “I’m sure he’ll fit in well.”

Mirajane bit her lip. “That’s the thing...see, I wanted to see how well you’d handle a different kind of child...and how well you could manage things with the other children, as well.”

Jellal frowned. “A ‘different’ kind of child?”

“Yes...a mentally ill child, to be specific. Rogue is schizophrenic.”

Erza gasped. “Oh, my...”

“It’s not severe. Not at all. It was hereditary, his mother had it as well. She died not too long ago...she was extremely sick. Influenza, I believe.”

“O-oh...I see...and his father...?”

“He was...abusive. Nothing like Minerva’s father, but nonetheless, abusive. Until he disappeared, no one is sure exactly where he went or when he left.”

Erza bit her lip. “H-how...does he...how does he act...?”

“Like a normal ten and a half year old boy, given the situation. Sometimes he’ll say something that doesn’t make sense, and he has nightmares a lot...but he’s a very kind little boy, I assure you. He’s just scared...is this something you two need to talk about?”

Jellal nodded, squeezing Erza’s hand. “Yes, not just for the two of us...we need to talk to the kids as well.”

“I-I agree with Jellal...we’ll talk about it over dinner tonight and call you tomorrow?”

Mirajane nodded, smiling. “Yes, of course. And please, be open minded about it. I wouldn’t have asked you two if I thought you couldn’t do it.”

“Of course...thank you.” They shook hands with Mirajane, said goodbye, and left the agency.

~DD~

“Oh, someone new? That sounds very exciting!” Yukino smiled enthusiastically.

“Yeah, totally! And it’s another boy, too? Awesome! I’m tired of girls!”

Minerva rolled her eyes at Sting, turning back to Jellal and Erza. “Why are you asking us, anyways? You’ve never done it before.”

Erza sighed. “Well...that’s why I said we needed to talk at dinner. Rogue has a disease called schizophrenia...do any of you know what that is?”

Yukino and Sting shook their heads, but Minerva nodded. “It’s where you see and hear things that aren’t real, right?”

“...More or less. He’s just like you three, he just may see or hear things that you don’t sometimes.”

Sting tilted his head to the side, frowning. “Like a superpower?”

“...Sure. Like a superpower.”

“Cool! He’s like an X-man!”

“It’s different from that, stupid.”

Jellal gave Minerva a look. “Don’t call your brother stupid. What do you guys think? You’d probably have to be a bit quieter...and you can’t all crowd around him when you guys meet. He might be a bit scared when he gets here, so you’ll have to give him space if he asks. Can you do that?”

All three kids nodded, and Yukino added, “I don’t mind if he’s different. He can still be our friend.”

“Yeah! Superpowers are cool!”

“It’s not a...whatever. I don’t mind. I don’t go out of my room much anyways.”

Jellal nodded, turning to Erza. “Alright...the two of us still need to talk this over, but we’re glad you guys are optimistic about this.”

“Sure, no problem. Just tell us what happens.”

~DD~

After a lot of discussion, both with each other AND with Mirajane, they decided to take Rogue in. 

He was silent, he didn’t say so much as two words in the first three days after her got there. He stayed in his room and drew in the small sketchbook Jellal got him (Mirajane said he liked to draw because it kept his mind busy).

Sting was in the worst mood of all the kids because of it. 

“He never leaves the room and he won’t talk to us! He’s boring!”

Jellal sighed. “You didn’t talk much when you first got here, either. Just give him time to get used to us. You wanna go see if he wants dinner?”

Sting nodded, rushing upstairs and throwing the door to the bedroom open. “Hey! Rogue!”

Rogue jumped in surprise, whirling around. Sting blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry...I didn’t mean to scare ya. Dad asked if you wanted dinner...”

Rogue shook his head slowly, going back to sketching. 

Sting groaned inwardly, going further into the room and leaning over Rogue’s shoulder. “Whatcha drawing?”

Rogue shrugged, not looking up.

Sting huffed. “Are you ever gonna talk? Because Yukino thinks you don’t like us. And it’s rude to ignore people.”

Rogue’s hand froze for a moment, before he began sketching again, not responding.

Sting finally snapped, yanking the sketchbook away from Rogue. “Would you just listen?!”

Rogue jumped again, scrambling back against the headboard, eyes locked on the sketchbook.

“G-give...give it back...” he whispered, voice shaking.

“Oh, so you CAN talk! Why won’t you come talk to us, then?”

Rogue growled, sitting up and glaring at Sting, fists clenched. “Give me my fucking notebook before I punch you.”

Sting went rigid, shocked. He knew that was not a nice word to say and Erza had nearly fainted when Minerva said it. He was also shocked (and slightly scared) by the look Rogue was giving him.

“U-uh...here...” he shakily handed it back to Rogue, you snatched it and went back to sketching, pencil dragging furiously over the paper.

“S-sorry,” Sting muttered under his breath, turning and fleeing the room.

~DD~

“Woah, he actually talked?” Minerva rolled onto her stomach, dropping her book onto the bed.

Sting nodded. “Yeah! I mean, he said a bad word, but he still actually said SOMETHING.”

Yukino frowned. “Why did he say a bad word...?”

Sting bit his lip. “Uh...I kinda snatched his sketchbook away from him...?”

Yukino gave Sting a disappointed look. “We’re supposed to be nice to him, Sting!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know...”

Minerva shook her head. “More importantly then that, he could’ve had a totally different response. He could’ve freaked out. And what if he actually HAD punched you?”

“Okay, okay! So I should’ve been nicer, I get it!”

Yukino sighed. “Well...maybe he doesn’t hate us? I could try to talk to him...?”

Minerva frowned. “He might hurt you. We should tell Erza and Jellal what he said...”

Sting shook his head violently. “No! Don’t do that!”

“Why? Scared you’ll get in trouble?”

“No! Well, that too, but...it was my fault, anyways. They might send him back...and we want to be his friend, right?”

“I don’t care about being his friend.”

Yukino shrugged, staring at the bedsheets. “I wanna be his friend...”

“Exactly! Besides, he’d hate me forever if we did that...he’s already mad at me.”

Minerva sighed. “...Whatever. But if he threatens one of you again I’m telling Erza. We don’t need him around if he might hurt us.”

Sting bit his lip, staring at the ground. He sincerely hoped it wouldn’t happen again...he already had made Rogue mad at him, he didn’t want Rogue to hate him. And he’d never be able to forgive himself if he got Rogue sent back to the foster system.

~DD~

Jellal rubbed his face, turning away from the door to the kids room and facing Erza. “...Well? How do we handle this?”

Erza shook her head. “We have to punish Sting...but what should we do about Rogue...?”

“I figured punishing Sting was a given. I was referring to Rogue as well.”

“Maybe...maybe we can talk to him? Hope he’ll talk to us? I hate that he’s shutting us out...I can’t do anything to help him that way.”

“...Should we talk to Mira?”

Erza froze. “We can’t...we can’t do that. She might take him...”

“Over a dispute between kids? We’ve dealt with that before.”

“Jellal, Rogue is different. You know that as well as I do...”

“I know he is a ten year old boy with a damaged past, but all of these kids had broken pasts. And we’ve made it through their problems just fine. We can get through this as well...I just want to know if this may be an issue. If he’s threatening to harm one of the others he might actually do it...”

“Mirajane said he wasn’t violent.”

“She also said he never spoke. He seemed to have quite a lot to say to Sting.”

“Sting crossed a line! He shouldn’t have done what he did!”

“He’s a child. He makes mistakes.”

“Rogue is YOUNGER than Sting! He can make mistakes too!”

Jellal shook his head, holding up his hands in surrender. “Let’s not fight about it, alright? How about we just get some rest and talk to Sting in the morning...we can deal with Rogue later.

Erza sighed. “You’re right...you’re right. We’ll handle this later. Hopefully this was just a bad day...maybe it’s over now. Maybe we’ll be able to just move on from this.”

Jellal hoped so, too. And while they certainly moved on from that particular episode,it wasn’t over. This was just the beginning of a series.


	2. Chapter 2

Sting shifted nervously from his spot at the table, glancing over at Rogue every few seconds. Yukino had ended up talking to him anyways, and he seemed to like her, so he agreed to come to breakfast. He even made small talk with Yukino and Erza. He would not, however, talk to Sting. He wouldn’t so much as glance in his direction.

Sting didn’t get it. Dad and Erza had grounded him and taken his game console away. AND he said sorry. Why was Rogue still mad at him?

“...And I think you’ll really like it at our school. You’ll be in the same grade as me and Sting!”

Rogue’s face scrunched up for a moment, before he nodded slowly. “Yeah...yeah, that sounds nice.”

Sting slumped in his chair, staring down at his bowl of oatmeal. He didn’t even like oatmeal. It was slimy and yucky. Maybe he just would wait for lunch...he could wait. He had been taught by his Dad- his FIRST Dad, that sometimes you had to wait for a good thing. If that was true, maybe he just had to wait to see if Rogue would be his friend.

He would wait. He could be patient. If it meant Rogue would be his friend and not be mad at him, he’d wait for infinity.

~DD~

He DID wait for infinity. Or at least that’s what it felt like. And might as well have been.

Four years. FOUR years went by before Rogue was even halfway nice to Sting. Four whole years.

Man, that kid sure could hold a grudge.

Even with all the time they spent in school together, around the same people, in the same classes, even with the vacations Erza and Jellal took them on, even with all of that, Rogue still made no attempt to be friends with Sting.

He was used to it by now. It was kind of their thing. Rogue did his own thing, Sting stayed out of his way. 

“Yo, Sting!” Natsu, his best friend, ran up to him, ignoring the teacher that sent him a death glare for running through the halls.

“Hey, Natsu.” Sting sent him a half smile, pulling his books out of his locker.

Natsu frowned, poking his arm. “Why the long face? You look pissed.”

“Nah. Just...frustrated.”

“With what?”

“School, that girl who keeps sending me weird looks, Rogue. The list goes on.”

“Rogue? Why Rogue? Don’t you two have a ‘no talking’ policy?”

“...Yeah. Kinda. We only ever talk when we have no alternative.”

“So what are ya stressin’ over? Wait- did he actually TALK to you?!”

“What? No! It’s just...there’s no telling how long we’re gonna be living with Erza and Jellal...it’ll kinda suck if he hates me FOREVER.”

“Sometimes you just have to live with it. Take my...even calling it a ‘relationship’ makes me cringe...’acquaintanceship’ with Ice Princess, for instance. We hate each others guts and even though life may be EASIER if, god forbid, we were ever friends, that’s not how it is. We fight. We talk shit about each other. Life goes on.”

“Yeah, and that works just fine, for you two. You two don’t have to see each other every day. You two don’t live in the SAME HOUSE.”

Natsu shuddered. “Perish the thought.”

“Exactly. I can’t really handle this ‘we hate each other and move on’ thing 24/7.”

“Sorry dude, I can’t help ya with this one. You’ll just have to kiss and make up or get over it.”

Sting was about to answer, before he smacked right into someone in front of him, knocking both of them over.

“Shit, my bad- Rogue?”

Rogue sent him a glare, getting back to his feet and picking up his books. “Yeah. Your bad. Get the fuck out of my way.”

Sting glared back. “Dude, seriously? I apologized, what the fuck is your issue?”

“I said move.”

Sting clenched his fists, walking up and getting in Rogue’s face. “And if I don’t?”

“P-please...” Juvia, one of Rogue’s friends, piped up, grabbing Rogue’s arm. “Juvia does not wish for you two to fight...”

“Yeah, dude, back off.” Natsu sent Sting a warning look, before turning to Rogue. “Although, if a fight is in order, I am more than willing to pummel your emo ass into next week.”

Rogue scoffed at Natsu. “As if you could.” He turned back to Sting. “What, you gonna hit me? Go ahead. See how much Erza and Jellal like that.”

“Oh, what, you gonna cry?”

“I don’t have to. It’s not like they won’t figure it out. News travels fast here, and you know how Yukino is.” Rogue shook his head, shoving past Sting. “I don’t have time for this shit.”

Sting flipped him off as he went past, before turning back around. “Let’s just go...”

Natsu nodded, keeping a steady pace next to Sting. “Dude, what an ass. I bet he’s gonna go say something to Gajeel. Real rich, bringing a senior into this.”

“No, he won’t. You know as well as I do he won’t do that.”

“You never know. Why the fuck does Juvia even hang out with him? Sympathy?”

“He’s a friend of Gajeel’s. That automatically made him her friend as well.”

“Why does she hang out with GAJEEL?”

“I don’t know, something having to do with past bullshit. I honestly don’t care.”

The bell rang overhead, signaling it was time for the next class. Natsu shook his head. “Great. Time for math. See you after school?”

“Can’t. Tonight is game night at home. Erza’d be upset if I bailed.”

“Ya big softy.” Natsu teasingly punched him in the arm, before bounding off.

Sting sighed, shaking his head at Natsu’s antics, before heading off to his next class.

~DD~

“What’s this I hear about a fight?”

Sting groaned, dropping his head onto the table. “Moooom...”

“Don’t start. You only call me Mom to get on my good side. You got into a fight? With who?”

“It was Rogue, and we didn’t actually fight...”

“Rogue? Again?” Jellal sighed, walking into the kitchen. “You two seriously need to drop that. It’s getting old.”

“It’s not like I don’t want to be his friend! He just is an Anti-Sting ray!”

Jellal chuckled, ruffling Sting’s hair. “You two will grow out of this eventually...hopefully.”

“Gee, Dad, what words of encouragement.”

"What kind of encouragement is needed?” Minerva dropped into a chair next to Sting.

“Jellal is trying to cheer me up and failing miserably.”

“Hey, give me credit for trying.”

“Credit given.”

Minerva frowned. “Why do you need cheering up?”

“Just bummed over this thing with Rogue, that’s all.”

“Seriously? You two have hated each other since you laid eyes on one another. What’s so upsetting about it now?”

“I’ve never NOT been upset about it! I just started getting used to it! Where is Rogue, anyways?”

“In his room. He seemed stressed when he got back so I figured he needed to be alone.”

Sting bit his lip. “I didn’t set him off, did I? Like, you know...really set him off?”

“Relax. Rogue’s fine. He doesn’t even have nightmares anymore.”

“Yeah, I know, but sometimes I forget he’s got that thing...he doesn’t act any different than anyone else.”

“And he shouldn’t be treated different than anyone else. He’s just like every other one of my beautiful children.”

“Ew, Erza, please.”

Erza chuckled, kissing the top of Minerva’s head. “You know you love it when I say stuff like that. Don’t try to deny it.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Yukino came into the kitchen, smiling brightly. “Aw, did I miss the mush?”

“Yep, Yuki, you’re totally safe.”

Jellal ruffled her hair. “Don’t worry, kiddo, I’m sure there’s more for you.” he turned to Sting. “Would you go get Rogue for me?”

Sting sighed, getting up. “Yeah. Sure.” he trudged upstairs, knocking on the door to Rogue’s room. “Hey...Jellal wants you to come downstairs.”

Sting paused, expecting Rogue to make some snide remark that he could respond to with a jeer of his own, but it never came. He frowned, knocking again. 

“Are you ignoring me? Dude, I’m sorry for what happened earlier, but you’re seriously overreacting...”

After knocking a few more times, Sting was beginning to get annoyed. He hesitated, trying to decide if it was really worth incurring Rogue’s wrath, before twisting the doorknob, shoving the door open.

“Dude, do you have your headphones on or some shit? Or are you just ignoring me- Rogue?”

Rogue was sitting in a corner of the room, hands clenched into fists in his hair and mumbling under his breath, rocking back and forth rhythmically. “...Shut up...just shut up...”

“H-hey...” Sting walked over slowly, crouching in front of Rogue, frowning. “Are you alright...?”

Rogue jumped, staring at Sting with wide eyes. “...What are you doing in here...?”

“I...you wouldn’t answer the door...are you okay?”

Rogue hesitated, before shaking his head violently. “N-no...it won’t leave...”

“...What won’t leave...?”

“Th-the shadow...”

“...Shadow?”

“Y-yeah...it’s...it’s dangerous...you should leave...”

“Rogue...there’s no one here. It’s just us.”

“N-no, Sting, you don’t understand...I don’t think you can see it...no one can.”

Sting bit his lip. At this point, he was highly considering getting Jellal or Erza...he didn’t know how he was supposed to handle this. Rogue may have had...three episodes? In the entire time that he had been there, and it was always after a nightmare and by that time Jellal and Erza had already rushed in to comfort him. This was the first time Sting had just walked in on one, and no one knew about it.

Suddenly Rogue stiffened, reaching out and grabbing Sting’s arm. “M-make it go away...”

“I...uh...” Sting wracked his brain for a solution. “...W-well...do you remember that time...when I asked for a cat? Erza was against it...but you actually agreed. You said you wanted one, too...”

Rogue nodded slowly. “Y-yeah...in the end, she still said no...but we managed to put up a good argument...”

“Jellal even jumped in to help us...Erza made him sleep on the couch that night.”

“We ended up sleeping in there, too. Jellal made popcorn and we watched movies with the volume super low so Erza wouldn’t come downstairs and catch us.”

“Yeah, that’s right. And we went shopping super early, right after the grocery store opened, and got stuff to make a strawberry cheesecake, her favorite. It looked a bit messy, but she loved it anyways and we got to eat it for breakfast.”

Rogue sighed, relaxing. “I...yeah. I remember that...I actually had fun.”

“We actually were getting along, too. Sure, we barely said to words to each other...but what we DID say wasn’t anything worth fighting over. We were actually able to be around each other for and extended period of time and stay in a good mood...”

Rogue gave Sting a...not quite a smile, but definitely a grateful look. “..Thank you. I mean it.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem...I’m just glad you didn’t completely freak out on me...”

A knock on the door caused both of them to jump. Jellal was standing in the doorway, a concerned look on his face. “Is everything alright? You’ve been up here for ten minutes...”

Sting nodded, getting to his feet. “Yeah, everything’s cool.” He sent Jellal a ‘We’ll talk about it later’ look before holding out a hand to help Rogue up, which he took, letting Sting pull him to his feet.

Erza frowned when they came downstairs. “There you are. You two weren’t fighting, were you?”

Sting opened his mouth to respond, but Rogue cut him off. “It’s fine. We weren’t fighting.”

Sting blinked in surprise. “Uh...yeah. We weren’t.”

“Alright...well, come on, sit down. Who’s up for a game of Monopoly?”

~DD~

“What? How is that possible? You won like, every single game!”

“I’m telling ya son, you’re never gonna defeat the champion.”

Minerva rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, so Jellal is the king of Monopoly. All hail the king. Rogue, where the hell did you learn to play Uno like that?”

Rogue shrugged. “I’d never played it before. I just learn quick.”

“I don’t believe it. No one learns to play Uno that quick. Tell me your secrets.”

“I..we didn’t play board games a lot at my place. I didn’t know what half of these games were until you guys started doing this game night thing.”

An alarm went off on Sting’s phone, and he grinned. “Sweet. Time to put this old-timey stuff away and play some REAL games! Anyone want to play GTA?”

“Son, never turn your back on a good board game.”

“Jellal, please. You sound like a grandpa.”

“Well, he IS an antique.”

“Erza! I can’t believe you’d say that about me!”

Minerva groaned. “Guys, quick, before they start getting mushy. I’ll grab my laptop, anyone who doesn’t want to run around stealing cars and shooting innocents can help me build a quiet kingdom for the chickens.”

Rogue chuckled. “Well, this is a hard decision. Stealing cars sounds lovely, but a kingdom for chickens? How can I pass that up?”

Sting gave Rogue a look of mock hurt. “Rogue! I can’t believe you’d abandon me for Minerva! Of ALL people!”

“Love you too, baby brother.”

Rogue shrugged. “Sorry. Chickens are better than cars.”

Sting stuck his tongue out. “You’ll regret that choice.”

“Maybe I will...” Rogue stared at him thoughtfully for a moment, before getting up and going to sit next to Minerva.

Sting blinked. What the hell was THAT supposed to mean? And why did it make him feel so...weird?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Sting, I wonder why myself... ;)


End file.
